In The Arms Of A Corporate Stud

Sähirat

Glossary?
So, I had to do a massive (but not exactly thorough) research on this part cos of the Arabian setting. I explained some of the uncommon terms as much as I could with pictures.
If anything in this publication offends anyone, be it words or images, it is entirely coincidental and  unintentional.
Clothing:

Sahirät- Witch
Khol- Traditional black makeup, mainly for the eyes.
Dune bashing- a popular extreme sport involving riding up or down sand dunes with cars, sometimes modified. Extremely dangerous.

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  "Ah! There she is! Alex you never told me she'd become more beautiful as the years passed. Your beautiful sahirat," Courtney heard a slightly high-pitched voice speak as she and Alex stepped out of the SUV that had picked them from the airport. She'd been given a black abaya to wear over her jeans and blouse at the airport and she was still trying her best not to trip over her legs.
    "Welcome to Jeddah, my friends," by now the owner of the voice was already beside the car. He was a middle-aged tall man wearing a grey bisht over a white thobe. His checkered black and white ghutra kept billowing in the  Arabian wind. It would've flown away if the black egal wasn't holding it in place.
   "It's always a pleasure seeing you Karim," Alex said and hugged him.
    "And the pleasure is always mine, Alex. But today, you're not the special guest. Your wife is," then he turned to Courtney. She noticed that his deep set eyes were the darkest shade of green she'd ever seen and they literally twinkled whenever he smiled. He had a broad nose with a Tony Stark beard. Coupled with his thin lips and cleft chin, he looked like something out of an old Bible Story.
"I'm enchanted, Courtney. Apparently you age in the opposite direction," he said and kissed her hand.
"Karim, she's my wife now. No funny business," Alex warned.
"C'mon, Alex. You know Nadia doesn't let me do anything fun."
"What has Nadia done this time?" Courtney turned to see a beautiful, lady in a green abaya with silver embroideries walking towards them. Her heavily kholed eyes were a lustrous brown, with a pointed nose and full pink lips. She looked extremely beautiful with flawless skin and Courtney suddenly felt pale.
"Oh, nothing my dear. I was just welcoming the guests," Karim beamed at his wife. She stood beside him and flashed beautiful white teeth at Alex and Courtney.
"You must be Courtney. Alex has told us so much about you. I'm Nadia, " Courtney took the hand she offered and spoke for the first time since arriving.
"Pleased to meet you. Your home is beautiful."
"Thank you so much dear. Could we all go in? I can't stand this heat. Jamal, Abu... Please take our guests' luggage to their rooms." And they all walked into the huge, luxurious castle the Al-Hassan's called home.

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After her first exotic lunch, Courtney was already considering living in Jeddah all her life. But Nadia wasn't done yet. There was a full body massage session waiting for them. Alex and Karim turned it down to go dune bashing.
Few minutes later, Courtney was facedown on a table with a female masseuse working wonders on her body.
" Hope you're enjoying your stay, Courtney?" Nadia was on the table beside her.
" A lot. It's been amazing. You and Karim really have your little slice of heaven here."
" Oh, it's nothing."
"Uhm... Nadia. What's the meaning of Sahirat?" Nadia laughed at her question.
"Please don't tell me Karim called you that."
" Well, he actually did. Just when I got here."
" It means 'little witch'. You made a huge impression on him that night in Vegas. He was your typical spoilt,rich, only son that got everything on a gold platter. Except you. You weren't even interested in him."
    "I actually didn't know he was important. Just thought he was cocky and dressed funny. Besides I was with Alex."
    "The two of u are such a perfect love story. You've been together since then? It's so romantic."
    "It's not such a big deal," Courtney wished Nadia would change the subject. Talking about Alex always gave her mixed feelings. Luckily for her, they started talking about other things. After the massage, Courtney was tired so Nadia showed her to the huge room they'd prepared for them. It had a small foyer and a huge inner bedroom. Almost all the available space was covered in rich gold silk, the cream marble floors gleamed. At the sight of the four poster oak bed, with its dark brown silk sheets, the stress of a nearly 7 hours flight finally overcame her. Nadia had hardly left the room before she bathed, changed into shorts and a shirt then slept off.

*************

"Karim, be serious."
"I am. I'll give you the deed and we'll complete all the legal stuff tomorrow. I've seen my sähirat. The least I could do is sell you the estate."
Alex nearly jumped with joy. So all the hassle wasn't for nothing. They were just getting back to the palace and he'd finally asked Karim about the estate he wanted to buy from him.
"Y'know, I still don't get it. What does Courtney have to do with any of this anyway?"
"Oh, nothing. I would've sold you the estate eventually. We were renovating the east wing when you asked so I couldn't sell it then."
Alex stopped dead in his tracks.
"You're joking. You have to be."
"But I'm not. She really wouldn't have affected my decision. You're not an acquaintance anymore, Alex. You know that. I just wanted to see her. She was such a vixen. Plus, I admit it felt nice deceiving you."
Alex laughed weakly and muttered,"Wonder how nice it'll sound to Courtney."
When they got into the house, Alex was shown his room and he told his friend goodnight then went in.
The first thing he saw when he got into the bedroom was Courtney's beautiful legs. He sighed in exasperation. Was she doing this on purpose? How was he meant to keep their deal if she kept wearing shorts like that? He made a mental note to buy her pajamas the next day. Huge ones. He stood for some minutes staring then sighed again and used the sheets to cover her properly. He knew he had to sleep on the couch in the foyer. If she saw him beside her the next morning, she was gonna freak out. Suddenly, he felt tempted to sleep beside her. Just to see her reaction...

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Courtney woke up the next morning, refreshed. Alone. She stared at the empty space on the bed. Where was Alex? She stood up from the bed and walked to the foyer.
"You're up?" He was on the floor in front of a couch, rubbing his neck.
"Yea...good morning," Courtney couldn't believe it. Did he really sleep on the floor?
Seeing the surprised look on her face, Alex smiled and said,"No, I slept on the couch. Didn't help much though. It's too small."
"Why?"
"Would u have wanted me to stay?"
The question threw her off. Would she have wanted him to stay? She had no idea.
"I...I dunno. But the bed is big enough for the both of us so... You could sleep there too. We'll create boundaries of course."
"Of course," He smiled, stood up from the floor and flinched a bit. Then turned to her,"I didn't leave the bed because of u. I left because of me. You looked...well,beautiful as always... and I could not promise myself that I won't do something stupid . I left cos I'm sure if I had touched u, you'd have let me do whatever I wanted and probably hated me afterwards. And I don't want that. I really don't want you to hate me, Courtney."